Marketing teams wanted for £250k media prize

Sorry, we're having problems with our video player at the moment, but are working to fix it as soon as we can

Waiting for Video...

Reporter

Published:14:53Tuesday 26 September 2017

Share this article

Marketing professionals from across the UK are invited to ‘shoot it out’ for a £250,000 media prize by showcasing their creativity with a one minute video.

1XL, one of the UK’s leading digital advertising partnerships representing over 800 trusted local news sites including this one, has teamed up with The Creative Shootout, the innovative awards for the creative industry, to launch The Creative Shootout 2018. Formed by a UK media-first partnership between 30 of the UK’s longest established regional news publishers including Newsquest, Johnston Press and Archant, 1XL is the UK’s largest source of premium digital news media audience, with a unique reach exceeding 26.403m people(Comscore January 2017).

The Creative Shootout 2018 is open to agency teams from any marketing discipline across the UK (Advertising, Content, Digital, Experiential, Integrated, Media, PR or other), the winning agency will receive a £250,000 media prize fund from 1XL to help stage their campaign, as well as £30,000 in fees from Charity of the Year, FareShare, the UK’s largest food re-distribution charity. Responsible for feeding half a million people a week, FareShare re-distributes good, surplus food to over 6,700 frontline charities and community groups.

Entry to the award is open from 25th September – 28th November. To enter, agencies need to give the judges just ‘60 seconds’ on why they have the creative clout for FareShare. The format can be any content; visual, video, showreel, app, audio, written, just a simple email or even a cake – but it must be viewed, read (or digested) in 60 seconds by the judges. From there, entries are shortlisted to eight finalist teams, who go on to compete in the live head-to-head final at BAFTA in in London on 25th January 2018.

Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said: “For us, creativity is a major driver in our organisation. It’s critical we’re creative in our thinking to help drive awareness and engagement of FareShare. We’ve got a very specific brief for The Creative Shootout this year and we hope the winning creative is a game changing moment for food poverty in the UK.”

Stellar line up and live final

In addition to high profile industry, agency and media personalities, the judging line-up also includes TV personality and Founder & Creative Director of The Rabbit Hole Group, Jason Gardiner, and entertainment and talent mogul, Professor Jonathan Shalit OBE. An Advisory Council was also set up this year, comprising 40 leading names from across the industry, and was chaired by producer and presenter, Scott Wimsett, who will also host the live final in January.

At the live final, finalists receive the real brief from FareShare at lunchtime, have four hours to work their creative magic in the afternoon, before pitching their ideas back in 10 minutes each to the judges and live audience at BAFTA. In the evening a 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be crowned at an after party – with the winning team walking off with the trophy, £30,000 in agency fees and the £250,000 media prize fund from 1XL.

Commenting, Creative Shootout Founder Johnny Pitt said: “The Shootout came from a simple place; namely, that creativity needs to be celebrated and showcased better. It’s ripped up the awards rulebook in the process, nurturing and showcasing the best creative talent out there, in a radical and real time format - and doing some good in the meantime.”

Ashley Highfield, CEO of Johnston Press, a founding partner in 1XL, adds: “Innovation and creativity have always been at the forefront of 1XL’s advertiser offering, which is why we’re delighted to support this event. Not only are we providing the winning agency with £250,000 worth of media spend, but we will also help them reach every corner of the UK through 800 trusted local news brands and a digital audience of over 23 million people a month. The Creative Shootout is unique with its real-time focus and we hope to make a meaningful difference for Charity of the Year FareShare.”

A number of prominent supporters including film star Hugh Bonneville have encouraged the UK marketing industry to support the Shootout, learn more about Creative Shootout at www.creativeshootout.com.